Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced, today, multiple immigration-related prosecutions, including charges against several members of a Baltimore-area drug trafficking organization (DTO). These prosecutions are in connection with the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America .
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the prosecutions with Acting Field Office Director Vernon Liggins, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE-ERO) – Baltimore Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division.
On June 24, the Office announced the indictment of six aliens unlawfully in the United States, stemming from a local drug investigation. The illegal aliens, along with a seventh defendant, are charged with several crimes in connection with a drug trafficking organization (DTO) operating in the Baltimore metropolitan area. According to the indictment, beginning in March 2025, and continuing into October 2025, the DTO members conspired to distribute five kilograms or more of a cocaine mixture along with 280 grams or more of a cocaine-base mixture.
Additionally, on June 29, U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Vanessa Yalixa Munoz-Baque, 31, of Ecuador, to six months in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States after her prior removal. Authorities previously removed Munoz-Baque from the U.S. in August 2023. On November 3, 2023, Munoz-Baque illegally re-entered the U.S. again, and began residing in Frederick, Maryland. Law enforcement discovered her illegally present in the U.S. upon her arrest for attempted murder.
On June 25, Desiderio Eliceo Perez Gonzalez, 37, of Guatemala, pled guilty to illegal entry charges. In 2016, Perez Gonzalez illegally entered the U.S. through Texas. Then on March 23, 2026, law enforcement found and apprehended Perez Gonzalez in Maryland.
In addition, on June 17, Roberto Lopez-Perez, 37, of Honduras, was indicted on illegal re-entry charges. According to court documents, on March 3, 2026, law enforcement encountered Lopez-Perez in Talbot County, Maryland, after a prior removal. Lopez-Perez knowingly and intentionally re-entered the U.S. without examination or inspection by an immigration official.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended ICE-ERO and the DEA for their work in these investigations. Ms. Hayes also thanked the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting these federal cases.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md .
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Maryland — U.S. Department of Justice press release.